Aida Lavellan
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a world to save. Again." Aida Lavellan is a Dalish elf who, by being in the wrong place at the worst time, would go on to become the herald of Andraste, and eventually the Inquisitor. Contents 'Physical Appearance' Aida possesses an athletic figure accented by curves. Her active lifestyle has left her in better shape than most mages. Tall for an elf, she stands at 5'7. Her one facial scar is a thick line down one of her cheeks from a failed attempt by some humans to take off one of her ears. Aida has wintry coloring with white blonde hair and pale green eyes. She keeps her hair loose around her shoulders but pulled back from her eyes. Her vallaslin is a simple pattern dedicated to Sylaise in a darkened shade of green, placed over her left eye. 'Personality' Like the season she was born in Aida is most akin to snow, beautiful but cold. Caring little for the opinions of others and even less for those of humans, Aida is difficult to get along with to say the least. Her Dalish upbringing instilled within her a keen sense of both confidence and superiority. Pragmatic to the point of ruthlessness, Aida typically makes her decisions in an informed, practical manner rather than off personal fancies. The exception to this is the survival and progression of other elves, which she will put over more practical concerns. Occasionally she will extend this altruism to mages as well. Despite her fraught interpersonal relationships Aida has made for a damn good leader, determined to get the job done no matter what. Her steadfast holding to a cause and unwillingness to surrender makes her easy to follow. 'Talents and Skills' A naturally talented mage, Aida has a great well of power she draws from to create devastating spells. Never having picked a specialization she is roughly equally skilled in fire, frost, and electricity magic. She is lacking in offensive magic, basing most of her skills on the need of combat. In addition to her first training Aida learned how to fight with a knife in case her magic ever ran dry, always keeping a knife in her boot. Aida is very knowledgeable about Dalish history, culture, art, and all manner of other things. She speaks quite a bit of Elvhen as well as the common tongue. She can also write a little Elvhen, a skill taught to her prematurely by Deshanna in preparation for one day becoming the keeper. Deshanna insisted Aida also learn to read and write in the common tongue as well, as this skill is invaluable for any run-ins with humans. Though she would never show anyone, Aida is additionally a lovely singer. Biography 'History' Aida was on the 12th of Haring in 9:18 Dragon into the untamed world of the Dalish. Her mother lived just long enough to hold her before perishing from blood loss. She was raised primarily by her paternal aunt Deshanna, the clan's keeper. Unbeknownst even to her Aida has three half-brothers by the same father. Much of her childhood was spent amongst the trees, roaming by the riverside that stretched endlessly throughout the free marches. Her favorite season was always winter, holding a special fondness for the woods when they were covered in snow. Hoping to spare the young girl's feelings on the matter Deshanna told Aida what she thought was a white lie- her father had been killed in battle against humans. Her magic first manifested at age seven as a thick layer of frost which Aida never had many friends, nor did she particularly care for any, preferring to spend her time studying history and magic. Despite this she held a fierce love for her clan, deeply proud of where she came from.' Aida attended her first aarlathan when she was eleven At fourteen she had her first individual encounter with shemlen- cruel nobles out on a hunt who, upon finding the young elf alone, decided to take her ears as a trophy. On her fifteenth birthday Aida was marked with her vallaslin, signaling her transition into adulthood. For her next birthday she was named first of clan Lavellan. Any whispers of nepotism based favoritism were quickly quelled when Aida threw herself headfirst into her duties, devoting most of her time to any tasks needed. Her first relationship was with a handsome, if sensitive, hunter named []. Her rejection was rather swift and harsh. By the time of the conclave Aida had initiated two other relaitonships- one with a [] from a passing clan and the other with a fellow mage at the second aarlathan she attended. 'In-game' The Conclave As the keeper's second-in-command, Aida was trusted to put aside her distaste for humans and get the job done. Deshanna's trust in her niece was well-placed, and Aida successfully snuck into the landmark meeting between templars and mages without bloodshed. Haven Aida awoke chained, enraged, and with a strange, burning mark on her hand. Redcliffe In Your Heart Shall Burn Skyhold Here Lies the Abyss Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts 'Post-game' Tresspasser Her anger was all-encompassing, tempered only by the absolute pain emanating from the mark. Despite her threats Solas looked upon his former friend in pity, and took the mark from Aida both out of necessity and in an effort to give her some relief. The Elvhen god then left her alone at the [], enraged and down an arm. Aida elected to disband the inquisition rather than carry on as an honor guard, leaving her companions to go their separate ways. Her final words were ones of defiance as she set out alone to kill Solas for all he had done, and all he plans to do. Beyond ''Tresspasser'' Currently little is known on the whereabouts of the former Inquisitor. Her missing arm has been replaced by a metal prosthetic of Dagna's design laced with lyrium. Aida and a small group of allies have tracked Solas to the Tevinter Imperium, and it is assumed she has set off to find him. 'Relationships' Companions Cassandra As both a devout Dalish and mage rights supporter, Aida and Cassandra were fated to never truly get along. Though they didn't agree on virtually anything, Cassandra could at the very least recognize that Aida was a damn good leader for the Inquisition. Eventually the pair were on good enough terms that Cassandra shared with her the vanishing of the seekers. By the time of Solas' reappearance their relationship was respectful on both sides. Leliana Aida appreciated Leliana's ruthlessness- though she found her backhanded methods more than a little questionable. Leliana privately found it amusing she was close friends with the two elven heroes of the last age. Varric They didn't get on as well as Varric and Hawke, but that was to be expected really. Their relationship was entirely its own animal- built from a mutual love of drinking and destroying red lyrium. Solas Solas found himself annoyed by his attraction to the petulant girl. She was an embodiment of the worst of the Dalish- proud, arrogant, and fiercely defensive of her beliefs- but he could not help but admire her as well. Both her considerable talent as a mage and physical appearance factored into his appreciation of her. It didn't hurt that Aida held a vested interest in both the fade and Elvhen culture. Finding her trainer insufferable Aida instead had Solas train her in the ways of the rift mage, deepening their connection. Many of her days in Skyhold were spent practicing magic long into the wee hours of night. As they did not become any closer than this, Solas wisely never told Aida what her vallaslin meant, and would undoubtedly have caught a fist to the face for his efforts anyways. Cullen Aida has found it impossible to move beyond his past as a templar and his treatment of mages. His mere involvement with the Kirkwall Circle and all the atrocities committed within its walls has left a deep strain on any relationship they might ever form. Nonetheless she has always respected his position as commander of the Inquisiton's forces, and they have maintained a cordial, if not cold, relationship. At the very least they were on good enough terms that, two years after defeating Corypheus, she attended his wedding. Josephine Josephine helped to soften some of the suspicions Aida had of diplomats on the whole, even if the inquisitor never was fully comfortable with them. Sera ''' Aida found Sera largely insufferable, putting little effort into nurturing her relationship with the other girl. This distaste was mutual, Sera in turn finding her far too "elfy" for comfort. Everything about the young jenny grated on Aida- her manner of speaking, her conduct, her insistence on pranking every damned person in Skyhold. Two years after Corypheus' defeat their relationship had cooled into something approximating friendship. Some of Sera's more annoying traits had been softened by her extended involvement with the inquisition, and especially her relationship with Dagna. Aida in turn had become calmer and more patient. They were at long last able to effectively able to work together, with Sera even extending an offer for Aida to join the Red Jennies. Though Aida did not take her up on this, she appreciated the gesture. '''Vivienne They had many disagreements about the nature of magic and circles, but remained close despite their clashing opinions. Aida never quite managed to do or say the right things for Vivienne, but luckily she never really cared to impress others anyways. Such was the key to the survival of their relationship. Upon Vivienne's request, Aida retrieved for her the true heart of a snowy white wyrven. Their relationship remained a complicated one but the two mages did end up on the same side at the end of the day, even sharing a spa day together. Blackwall In the end Aida decided to spare his life, having grown appreciative of the old man's skill with a blade, allowing him to shed the lie of Blackwall and become Thom Rainier once more. Iron Bull Aida very much enjoyed drinking with the Qunari in her free time, what little of it she had. Despite having a strong stomach she was still no match for Bull's seemingly endless tolerance. The two remained friends with benefits for a time, but Aida eventually grew unsatisfied with the repetitive sex and broke things off with him. Though she cared greatly for the qunari merc, she never felt the need to deepen their relationship. Iron Bull understood her reasons for this perfectly well and the pair remained great friends. She later gave her blessing when he and Dorian, her other closest friend, eventually began dating. When faced with the choice of fostering an alliance with the Ben-Hassath or saving her friend's company, Aida made the first of many personally-driven choices and chose to save the Chargers at the cost of a more powerful ally. Dorian His endorsement of slavery was a definite sore spot in an otherwise Cole Dani Hawke Hawke is too sarcastic for Aida's taste, as she finds the other woman disingenuous and hard to get a good read on. Not to mention the resentment she feels over Corypheus being released. Even if Hawke never meant to, she is ultimately the reason Aida can never walk freely with her clan again. Maisie Trevelyan Though only a year younger than Aida, Maisie is her opposite in nearly every regard- a sweet, naive, altruistic girl to her own cold, cynical, self-serving ways. Aida is additionally quite annoyed by Maisie's relationship with Cullen, finding the pair's puppy love insufferable, though she could agree they made a good pair. Morrigan From their first meeting the two clashed- and it was easy to see why. Both hard-headed mages with a vested interest in elven culture, the two were both too similar and different to ever truly coexist. Aida grew to loathe the witch's haughty view of her role in preserving Elvhen culture. Despite Morrigan's protests, Aida eagerly drank from the well, hoping to both find the information Family Deshanna 'Miscellaneous' Equipment When she attended the conclave Aida was equipped with a keeper's robe, which she stubbornly wore for much of her adventures under the Inquisition's banner. After the slaughter of much of her clan she found it too difficult to continue wearing the reminder of what she'd lost and allowed Harrit to design her a battlecoat worthy of the inquisitor which she continues to wear in the present day. Trivia * Aida's Hawke personality type would be aggressive * Her halla's name is Nydha, the Elvhen word for the darkest time of the night * Aida means happy, which starkly contrasts her harsh personality Category:Inquisitor Category:Lavellan Category:Libragoblin